Russia Space Programs

Russian space officials on Wednesday set March 20 for dumping the Mir space station, saying they want to wait until the craft drifts closer to Earth before giving it a final shove toward a fiery plunge into the Pacific Ocean. However, they warned that the date for Mir's long-delayed demise might still vary, depending on solar activity, which expands the atmosphere and creates friction with the 15-year-old station.

The Russian Proton-M rocket that blew up seconds after blastoff Tuesday destroyed three satellites worth $200 million, spurred authorities to indefinitely delay two other launches this month and damaged the image of Russia's lucrative commercial space industry. The rocket, which appeared to stall and roll about 10 seconds after it was launched, also spewed 600 tons of toxic fuel across the launch pad and surrounding steppe of the Baikonur facility in Kazakhstan, raising fears of contamination and further strain in Moscow's relationship with its former Soviet sister republic.

The Russian Proton-M rocket that blew up seconds after blastoff Tuesday destroyed three satellites worth $200 million, spurred authorities to indefinitely delay two other launches this month and damaged the image of Russia's lucrative commercial space industry. The rocket, which appeared to stall and roll about 10 seconds after it was launched, also spewed 600 tons of toxic fuel across the launch pad and surrounding steppe of the Baikonur facility in Kazakhstan, raising fears of contamination and further strain in Moscow's relationship with its former Soviet sister republic.

Russian space officials on Wednesday set March 20 for dumping the Mir space station, saying they want to wait until the craft drifts closer to Earth before giving it a final shove toward a fiery plunge into the Pacific Ocean. However, they warned that the date for Mir's long-delayed demise might still vary, depending on solar activity, which expands the atmosphere and creates friction with the 15-year-old station.

Wouldn't it be a pity if Cape Canaveral suddenly belonged to another country? That is just the sort of fix that Russia's space sector has found itself in since the Soviet Union's collapse in late 1991. When the former republic of Kazakhstan gained independence, it proceeded to announce that Baikonur, the main Soviet launch center that happened to be situated on its windy steppes, had become Kazakh property. Russia inherited the Soviet Union's ambitions in space, but not its main launch pads.

With Russia's beleaguered space program on the line, a rookie cosmonaut aboard the Mir orbiting station guided an unmanned, supply-laden freighter to a safe docking by remote control Friday after it twice failed to land on autopilot. The tricky linkup by Lt. Col. Yuri Malenchenko, a first in Moscow's annals of space achievement, saved $60 million worth of research equipment, food and supplies for scheduled manned missions with the European Space Agency next month and the United States in March.

With Russia's beleaguered space program on the line, a rookie cosmonaut aboard the Mir orbiting station guided an unmanned, supply-laden freighter to a safe docking by remote control Friday after it twice failed to land on autopilot. The tricky linkup by Lt. Col. Yuri Malenchenko, a first in Moscow's annals of space achievement, saved $60 million worth of research equipment, food and supplies for scheduled manned missions with the European Space Agency next month and the United States in March.

Wouldn't it be a pity if Cape Canaveral suddenly belonged to another country? That is just the sort of fix that Russia's space sector has found itself in since the Soviet Union's collapse in late 1991. When the former republic of Kazakhstan gained independence, it proceeded to announce that Baikonur, the main Soviet launch center that happened to be situated on its windy steppes, had become Kazakh property. Russia inherited the Soviet Union's ambitions in space, but not its main launch pads.